Wall-to-floor connector beam



Sept. 22, 1970 w. B. WILKINS 3,529,393

WALL-TO-FLOOP- CONNECTOR BEAM I Filed Sept. 30, 1968 v z Sheets-Sheet 1 WI LHBURB E TTF: WmAms W16dLJzgZqMlJM ATTORNEYS p 22, 1970 w. B. WILKINS 3,529,393

WALL-TO-FLOOR CONNECTOR BEAM Filed Sept. 50, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR: WILLIAM BURBETTE WILK ms ATTORNEYS Sept. 22, 1970 w. B. WILKINS WALL-TO-FLOOB CONNECTOR BEAM Filed Sept. 50, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 III. In I. III:

8 INVENTOR:

WILLiAM BUEbETTE-WlLKWS WM WW ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,529,393 WALL-TO-FLOOR CONNECTOR BEAM William Burdette Wilkins, Louisburg, N.C., assiguor to Comstruct, Inc., Lincolnton, N.C., a corporation of North Carolina Filed Sept. 30, 1968, Ser. No. 763,507 Int. Cl. E04b 1/12, l/28, 1/38 US. Cl. 52-731 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A building construction including a composite floor unit formed of a series of panels joined together and wherein elongate sills surround the floor unit, each sill extending along an outer edge of the floor unit with the proximal edges of the panels and the sills having a mating configuration. The sill is of shell-like construction, and a corresponding upright wall is secured 'to the sill by fastening means which extends into the sill and also is embedded in mating portions of both the sill and the adjacent outer edge of the floor to thereby secure the sills to the floor and to secure the upright wall structure to the sill.

This invention relates to building construction, and, more particularly, to an improved floor structure embodying novel means for connecting upright Wall structures to sills and securing the sills about the perimeter of the floor structure.

It is an important object of this invention to provide an improved building floor and wall construction including a floor structure fabricated from a plurality of prefabricated panels joined together by a novel sill structue connected to the 1100 panels by novel means which also serves to secure the bottoms of external wall structures to the sills, the construction being characterized by economy of manufacture, the ease with which it may be erected, and its attractiveness of appearance.

Generally, this invention contemplates the formation of light-weight, but very strong floor panels with novel joint means about the perimeters thereof, which panels are assembled into a composite floor unit with the proximal edges of the adjacent panels having a mating configuration. The panels have exposed outer edges defining outer edges of the composite floor unit, and the composite floor unit is surrounded by shel-li-ke sills provided with irregular inner surfaces which matingly engage the outer edges of the floor unit. Fastening means is provided for securing wall structures to the upper sides of the sills and also serves to secure the mating portions of the floor unit and sills together to provide a unitary structure.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a somewhat schematic perspective view showing the building construction including a typical floor unit, sills and exterior wall structures in exploded relationship and embodying the novel structure of the instant invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view, partially in cross-section, illustrating one of the sills and being taken substantially along line 2-2 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged partially exploded perspective view of one of the floor panels of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a greatly enlarged view of the core and its surrounding framework shown in FIG. 3, with the facing members omitted for purposes of clarity;

FIG. 5 and 6 are sectional views through one of the floor panels taken substantially along the respective lines 5-5 and 6-6 in FIG. 4, but being on a reduced scale;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the assembled floor, sill and wall structure taken substantially along line 7-7 in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7, but being taken substantially along line 8-8 in FIG. 1.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 broadly designates a floor structure including a series of prefabricated panels A-D which are joined together and collectively define a substantially quadrangular composite floor unit. As will be later described, the proximal edges of adjacent panels have a mating configuration, and the panels have exposed outer edges defining the outer edges of the composite floor unit. Such exposed outer edges of the panels are each of an irregular cross-sectional configuration, and novel sills surround the fioor unit, there being four such sills shown in this instance indicated at 11-14.

The sills 11-14 are preferably rnitered at the corners of the floor unit, and the inner sides of the sills are also of irregular cross-section configuration mating with the corresponding outer edges of the floor unit. Upright wall structures 21-24 are supported on the respective sills 11-14, only the wall structures 22, 23 being shown in FIG. 1 for purposes of clarity. The wall structures 21, 24 are shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

The entire floor structure, including the floor unit and the sills 11-14, may rest upon any suitable supporting means, such as the piers 25 of FIG. 1. It is contemplated that the entire fioor structure may rest directly upon the earth, upon concrete or brick walls, or upon a concrete slab, for example.

Although the floor structure \10 of FIG. 1 is shown as being made from four prefabricated panels A-D, and is shown of being quadrangular or rectangular configuration, it is to be understood that additional panels may be arranged in end-to-end relation to the panels shown in FIG. 1, that an additional or lesser number of panels may be arranged in side-to-side relationship, and that panels may be arranged so that the floor plan of the building will have an irregular configuration; e.g., the floor plan of the building construction may be U- shaped, Lshaped, or of other configuration.

For purposes of description, it may be assumed that the prefabricated floor panel shown in FIGS. 3-6 is that panel indicated at A in FIG. 1. However, all the panels A-D may be of identical construction, and like reference numerals shall be applied thereto where applicable.

Floor panel A comprises a substantially rectangular core 30 preferably in the form of a honeycomb made from kraft paper, cardboard, or other paper product, and the interstices of which may contain a suitable insulation material 31, such as polyurethane foam, molded integral therewith. As shown in FIG. 4, for example, the insulation material 31 is flush with the bottom surface of core 30 and may penetrate about half-way through core 30. If desired, the polyurethane foam or other insulation material may extend from the lower face to the upper face of core 30 without departing from the invention. Core 30 also may be in the form of a sheet or laminated sheets of fiberboard or similar material.

Positioned about core 30 is a peripheral framework including four elongate, shell-like joint members 33-36 which are mitered at their junctures at the corners of the panel. Joint members 3336 have irregular outer edges, to be later described, the configuration of such outside edges being identical for all four joint members 3336, but the configuration of the second and third joint members 35, 36 being the reverse or inversion of the configuration of the first and second joint members 33, 34. It is preferred that the joint members 33-36 are of shell-like construction and molded from paper laminations impregnated with and/or bonded together with a phenolic resin or other suitable adhesive. Joint members 33-36 also may be molded or extruded from a suitable plastic material, and they may be of other forms and/or materials provided that they embody the essential configurations to be described hereinafter.

Facing members or sheets 37, 38 are positioned against opposing sides of core 30, with peripheral portions of facing members 37, 38 at least partially overlying framework members 33-36. Any suitable adhesive material may be employed for bonding facing members 37, 38 to opposing sides of joint members 3336 and, of course, facing members 37, 38 also may be bonded to opposing sides of core 30. Thus, it can be appreciated that all the elements 30, 31, 33-38 are integral parts of panel A.

Facing member-s 37, 38 may be made of sheet material which is appropriate to the building; such material may differ as between that on the lower and upper surfaces of the floor. Facing members 37, 38 may be made of any suitable self-sustaining material such as rigid or semi-rigid plastic material, wood, sheet metal, etc. As shown, the facing members 37 of the floor panels serve as the bottom of the floor structure 10 and therefore the lower facing member 37 of each panel preferably is made from a water-impervious material such as a suitably treated sheet metal, a fiberglass sheet or the like. The upper facing member 38 of each panel may be made from plywood or any other suitable wood product which i will serve at least as a sub-floor for the corresponding floor structure.

The outer edge of each joint member 33-36 may be considered as having thin walls collectively defining the outer edges of the panel. In each of the first and second joint members 33, 34 the thin walls defining the outer edge thereof define a longitudinally extending tonguereceiving groove 41 and an adjacent parallel projecting tongue 42 immediately above the groove 41. Opposed upper and lower walls of each tongue 42 extend outwardly in somewhat converging relationship to provide a tapered configuration to the tongue. Similarly, the

' lower wall of each tongue 42 also defines the upper wall of each groove 41 and converges inwardly toward the core 30 relative to the bottom wall defining the corresponding groove 41. The width of groove 41 preferably is such as to tightly receive therein a tongue of the same size as the tongue 42 immediately thereabove.

Projecting inwardly from the upper and lower extremities of the outer edge of each first and second joint member 33, 34 are respectively substantially parallel flanges 43, 44. The adjacent outside edges of the facing members 37, 33 are preferably positioned closely adjacent the juncture of the outer edges of joint members 33, 34 with the respective flanges 43, 44. The joint members 35, 36

are each preferably of substantially the same configuration as the first and second joint members 33, 34 with the important exception that the joint members 35, 36 are inverted with respect to the first and second joint members 33, 34.

In other words, each third and fourth joint member 35, 36 includes a longitudinally extending tonguereceiving groove 41' in the outer face thereof and an adjacent parallel projecting tongue 42', but the tongue 42 is disposed immediately below the respective groove 41'. The second and third joint members 35, 36 are also provided with opposing upper and lower flanges 43', 44'.

The flanges 43, 44, 43', 44' may straddle side portions of and fit in suitable recesses formed in, opposing faces of core 30, so that the outer surfaces of flanges 43, 44, 43', 44 may be substantially flush with the outer faces of core 30.

The panels A-D are formed in the manner described; i.e. with two adjacent right-angularly disposed side edges thereof having a configuration which is a substantial inversion of the configuration of the side edges of the other tWo adjacent right-angularly disposed side edges, so that any desired number of identical panels may be arranged in mating relationship in side-by-side and/or end-to-end relationship, and so that any given side edge of the floor unit formed theerfrom may be of the same configuration throughout its length. Prior to positioning adjacent panels in mating relationship as shown in FIGS. 1 and 8, a suitable bonding agent or adhesive may be applied to the proximal edges of adjacent floor panels so that the floor unit thus being formed becomes a unitary structure.

All the panels are preferably of the same size. For example, each panel may be approximately four feet wide and twelve feet long when measured from the upper shoulder at the flared juncture of a tongue 42 with the respective flange 43 to the curved outer edge portion of the opposing flange 43, for example, in FIG. 4. Thus, if piers are used for supporting the floor structure such as are indicated at 25 in FIG. 1, it is preferred that the center-tocenter distance between adjacent piers 25 is approximately four feet so that one of the piers 25 is positioned beneath the juncture of adjacent panels at the corners thereof. After assembling a series of panels to form the composite floor unit, the sills 11-14 are positioned in mating relation to the outer edges of the floor unit. Preferably, each sill is of a length corresponding to the length of the corresponding outer edge of the floor unit, although it is to be understood that two or more sills may be positioned in alignment with their proximal ends in abutting relationship to accomodate any given outer edge of the composite floor unit if necessary or desired. Where any given side edge of the floor unit includes exposed outer edges of a plurality of panels, as is the case with respect to those edges of the floor unit adjacent the respective sills 11, 13 in FIG. 1, it is preferred that the corresponding sill is at least of sufficient length to embrace the corresponding edges of two or more floor panels. A detailed description of the sills 11-14 will now be given.

Each sill 1114 is in the form of a four-sided beam including an elongate shell-like first component 51 which may be of identical configuration to that of each of the joint members 33-36 of FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. The first component of each sill has thin walls collectively of irregular cross-sectional configuration defining a first side of the sill. The irregular first side of each sill is of such crosssectional configuration as to define a longitudinally extending tongue-receiving groove 52 and an immediately adjacent parallel outwardly projecting tongue 53 (FIGS. 7 and 8) on said first side edge, i.e., the inner edge, of each sill 11-14.

It should be noted that, as preferred, the groove 52 is positioned above the tongue 53 of the adjacent relatively right-angularly disposed sills 11, 14, while the first side edges of the opposing right-angularly disposed sills 12, 13 have their respective grooves 52 below the respective tongues 53 so that, in effect, the first side edges of sills 12, 13 are inversions of the first side edges of the sills 11, 14 so as to fit in proper mating relation with the corresponding outer edges of the floor unit formed of panels A-D.

The first component 51 of each sill 11-14 also comprises a pair of upper and lower flanges 54, 55 integral with and projecting from opposing upper and lower edges of the first side of the corresponding sill and defining opposing second and third sides of the sill. It should be noted that upper flange 54 (FIGS. 7 and 8) overlies lower flange 55 and also overlies the tongue-receiving groove in the first side of the corresponding sill.

The, first component 51 of each sill 11-14 may be molded or extruded from any suitable material, but is preferably made from laminated paper in the same manner as is preferred with respect to the framework 33-36 of each panel A-D. All the walls and flanges of the first component 51 of each sill are preferably of substantially the same thickness; e.g., about A; to inch.

Each sill 11-14 further comprises an elongate second component 57 extending parallel with the first component 51 and defining a fourth side of the sill in opposing relation to said first side. The second component of each sill may be made of any suitable rigid material and preferably is in the form of an elongate strip of wood or plywood of such width as to bridge proximal surfaces of the flanges 54, 55 and hold the flanges 54, 55 in substantially parallel relationship.

Upper and lower edges of second component 57 of each sill are suitably secured to proximal surfaces of flanges 54, 55 preferably by means of a suitable adhesive or other bonding agent. The thickness of each second component 57 relative to the width of flanges 54, 55 should preferably be such that the wall defining the bottom of the groove 52 in the first side of the corresponding sill may abut the inner or proximal surface of second component 57 to lend rigidity to the first side of the sill. Also, first component 57 is preferably of greater thickness than the walls and flanges defining the first, second and third sides of the sill.

In the process of assembling the sills 11-14 in mating relationship with the outer edges of the floor unit formed of panels A-D, it is preferred that a suitable bonding agent or adhesive is applied to the proximal edges thereof so that the sills then become tightly united with the floor panels. Additionally, fastening means 60, spaced along each sill 11-14, are provided for securing the corresponding upright wall structures 21-24 to the sills. Each fastening means includes a screw, rivet, bolt or other suitable means extending through at least one of those walls of the corresponding first component 51 defining the groove 52 in the first side thereof, and also being embedded in the corresponding projecting tongue on the outer edge of the composite floor unit so as to further secure the sill in fixed relation to the corresponding outer edge of the composite floor unit.

In this instance, each of the wall structures 21-24 may be in form of a plurality of wall panels having their proximal edges joined together, each such wall panel being indicated at 61. The wall structures 21-23 may be constructed in the manner described in my copending application entitled Modular Building Wall Structure With Electrical Raceway Means, Ser. No. 763,508, filed of even date herewith, and to which reference is made for a more detailed description thereof. Essentially, the panels 61 are each characterized by inner and outer facing members 62, 63 secured against opposed sides of a substantially rectangular core 64, with the bottom of each panel 61 being defined by a longitudinally extending hollow electric-wire raceway 65.

Each raceway includes a pair of opposing upstanding side walls 65a, 65b whose lower edges are connected to a bridging means 650 and wherein the thickness of each 6 panel 61, and thus the width of each raceway member 65, is such that the lower edges of the side walls 65a, 65b rest upon the upper flange 54 of the corresponding sill.

Each fastening means is shown in the form of a rod provided with upper and lower threaded portions 70, 71 and extending through upper sill flange 54. The lower threaded portion 71 extends downwardly through the walls defining the corresponding groove of the respective sill 1114 and also extends through the walls defining the tongue 42 or 42' of the corresponding floor panel defining the outer edge of the composite floor unit. I he upper threaded portion 70 of each fastening means 60 penetrates the bridging portion 650 of the raceway member of the corresponding panel 61 and has a nut 72 threaded thereon for securing the corresponding wall structure to the sill. If so desired, the inner facing member 62 and one of the sidewalls of raceway 65 of each panel 61 may be provided with suitable aligned access openings 73 therethrough to facilitate access to the bridging means 650 of the corresponding raceway member for securing the same to the corresponding sill.

Although a particular wall structure has been described, it is apparent that the wall structures 21-24 may take other forms, without departing from the invention, provided that the wall structure is such as to accommodate fastening means to secure the same to the corresponding sill 11-14 in substantially the manner heretofore described.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. A four-sided beam adaptable for use as a sill for buildings and comprising an elongate shell-like first component having thin walls collectively of irregular cross-sectional configuration defining a first side of said beam having a longitudinally extending tongue-receiving groove and an immediately adjacent parallel outwardly projecting tongue, a common planar surface extending from the apex of said tongue to the base of said groove for providing a large bearing area, said first component also having a pair of flanges integral with and projecting from opposing side edges of said first side and defining opposing second and third sides of said beam terminating in free end portions, an elongate second component of rectangular cross-sectional configuration extending parallel with said first component and defining a fourth side of said beam in opposing relation to said first side, and said second component being secured to and bridging proximal surfaces of said flanges and extending between said free end portions thereof, portions of said first component defining said tongue being spaced from said second component for defining a hollow interior of said beam and portions of said first component defining said groove abutting said second component.

2. A beam according to claim 1, wherein the walls of said first component are formed of laminated paper.

3. A beam according to claim 1, wherein said second component is of substantially greater thickness than the walls of said first component.

4. A beam according to claim 1, wherein said second component is wooden and has its opposing longitudinal edges adhesively secured to said flanges.

5. A beam according to claim 1, wherein a portion of said irregular first side of said beam is in the shape of an elongate tongue of lesser width than said first side.

6. A beam according to claim 1, wherein a portion of said irregular first side of said beam defines a longitudinally extending tongue-receiving groove.

7 8 7. A beam according to claim 1, wherein all the Walls 3,048,244 8/1962 Callahan 52408 and the flanges of said first component are of sub- 3,238,690 3/1966 Wilkins 52-731 stantially the same thickness, and wherein said second FOREIGN PATENTS component is of greater thickness than the flanges of said first component. 547,357 1957 Canada- 600,772 1948 Great Britain. References Cited 606,792 1948 Great Britain.

UNITED STATES PATENTS HENRY c. SUTHERLAND, Primary Examiner Re. 23,775 1/1954 Oswald 52-732 765,930 7/1904 Mahony 52620 10 U.S. C1.X.R.

2,856,039 10/1958 Hawkinson 52580 52282, 496, 618 

